Content access for duration of calendar events

ABSTRACT

Content access for the duration of a calendar event may be provided. Upon receiving a calendar invitation comprising a start time, an end time, and an encrypted attachment, a user may accept or reject the calendar invitation. If the calendar invitation is accepted, an acceptance notification associated with the calendar invitation may be transmitted. Upon receiving a request to access the encrypted attachment, a determination as to whether the request to access the encrypted attachment occurs within the start time and the end time of the calendar invitation may be made. If the request to access the encrypted attachment does not occur within the start time and the end time of the calendar invitation, access to the encrypted attachment may be refused.

This application claims priority as a divisional application of U.S.application Ser. No. 14/339,659, filed Jul. 24, 2014, which is expresslyincorporated herein by reference.

BACKGROUND

Limited duration access to content may be provided. In some situations,highly confidential information may need to be distributed to meetingattendees in advance of the meeting's occurrence. For example, anextremely large multimedia file may be intended for presentation at acompany's board meeting, which some attendees will attend viateleconference. It may be impractical to wait until the start of themeeting to begin downloading the presentation, as such a transmissionmay take a long time. Conventional solutions must do just this, however,or else risk early release of the information if access to the contentis granted early.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

Many aspects of the present disclosure can be better understood withreference to the following diagrams. The drawings are not necessarily toscale. Instead, emphasis is placed upon clearly illustrating certainfeatures of the disclosure. Moreover, in the drawings, like referencenumerals designate corresponding parts throughout the several views. Inthe drawings:

FIG. 1 is a block diagram of an operating environment for providingdevice management;

FIG. 2 is a flow chart illustrating a method for providing a limitedduration content access;

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of a communication system providing acryptographic proxy server;

FIG. 4 is a schematic block diagram of a remote server and a clientdevice; and

FIG. 5 illustrates components of a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)system in which embodiments of the present disclosure may beimplemented.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION

The following detailed description refers to the accompanying drawings.Wherever possible, the same reference numbers are used in the drawingsand the following description to refer to the same or similar elements.While embodiments of the disclosure may be described, modifications,adaptations, and other implementations are possible. For example,substitutions, additions, or modifications may be made to the elementsillustrated in the drawings, and the methods described herein may bemodified by substituting, reordering, or adding stages to the disclosedmethods. Accordingly, the following detailed description does not limitthe disclosure. Instead, the proper scope of the disclosure is definedby the appended claims.

Limited duration access to content may be provided. In one example usecase, a meeting organizer may create a calendar event using a commonscheduling application and invite several others to attend. Theorganizer may attach documents, links, and/or other content to themeeting event that may comprise confidential information. By using anencryption key pair, the content may be encrypted according to a publickey (that may or may not be distributed to the attendees of the meeting)before being distributed. In some embodiments, the encrypted content mayonly be distributed to an attendee after they have accepted the meetinginvitation.

At a predetermined time, which may be at the time the meeting starts orsome set period beforehand, the encrypted content may be decrypted. Forexample, the private key may be distributed to the attending users, or aremote server may decrypt the content after determining that theattending users' devices are compliant with management or securitypolicies. The decrypted documents may then be viewed normally and/or viaparticular applications, such as a secure web browser or documentviewer. After the meeting, the content may be securely deleted and/ormay be retained by the attendees according to settings chosen by themeeting organizer.

In some embodiments, additional content may be distributed or updatedprior to the meeting. For example, other attendees may distributecontent to each other using the same public key such that all theencrypted documents may be decrypted at the same time. One possible usecase for such a scenario may be a bid process where each attendeesubmits an encrypted bid, and all bids are decrypted simultaneously. Theprivate key may be stored by a key service and only released at theappropriate time so that no one, not even the organizer, may decrypt thecontent prior to the set time.

In some embodiments, users, applications, and/or their devices may berequired to comply with management and/or security policies in order todecrypt the attachments, request resources, use certain features and/orto communicate with other users at all. For example, a device may needto comply with various security checks such as virus or malware scans,which applications and/or protocols may be used, operating systemintegrity (e.g., not be ‘rooted’, ‘jailbroken’, or otherwise hacked),and/or user, group, and/or device authorizations. Management policiesmay restrict factors such as times and/or locations in which suchmessages may be sent and/or received, a quota of resources that may beused by such messaging, who may exchange messages with whom, and/orwhich user preferences and/or settings may be enforceable.

Compliance with management and/or security policies may be required byan enterprise to prevent remediation actions from being taken. Forexample, a management policy may require that a device have a passcodeset, that a specific application be used for real-time communications,and that only users within the same user group may be messaged duringworking hours. Security policies may restrict encryption of the messagetraffic to an encryption key assigned by the enterprise, so thatmessages may be logged and/or audited, and may prohibit the sending offiles or images. Failure to comply with these policies may result, forexample, in restricting an input from being transmitted at all,overriding a user preference associated with the application (e.g.,using the enterprise encryption key instead of a personal key), and/orpreventing the establishment of a communication session between theusers at all.

The security policies may further comprise requirements to protect thecontent of the communication from unauthorized users. For example, anotification message on the receiving user's device may be prohibitedfrom displaying any and/or all of the contents of the communicationuntil an authorization, such as a passcode or encryption key password,has been entered. In some embodiments, the message may be displayed, butthe contents may be obfuscated, such as by blurring or covering textwith black boxes. Other restrictions may prevent any and/or all devicesparticipating in the communication from capturing the contents of themessage, such as by preventing logging and/or disabling screen capturecapabilities. A further refinement may vary a refresh rate associatedwith different portions of a display of the contents such that attemptsto photograph the screen may be blocked or at least allowed to captureonly portions of those contents.

The technical effects of some embodiments of this disclosure may includeestablishing control of access to networks and resources for userdevices when access lists may not be predefined, and reducing and/oreliminating the burden of predefining access lists to control access tonetworks and resources. Moreover, the technical effects of someembodiments may include enhancing network access control by assigningspecific access rights based on access lists to client devicesauthorized to access associated network beacons and resources.

Other technical effects of some embodiments of this disclosure may offergroup management solutions to managing content access and distribution.For example, users of a sales group may have read access to marketingdocuments and presentations, while users in a marketing group may beable to edit and/or annotate the market documents. Similarly, users inan accounting or business services group may be the only ones withaccess to enterprise financial documents. These access controls may beprovided by distributing authorization credentials to devices associatedwith users of the respective group. Each user may then authenticate totheir device, such as by inputting a username, password, authenticationkey, and/or biometric data, before the device may access and/or retrievethe content authorized for distribution to that device. Theseauthentication types are provided as examples only and are not intendedto be limiting as many other types of user authentication are in useand/or may be contemplated in the future.

Content access may be further limited by policies that enforce othercompliance restrictions based on properties of the device such as time,location, device security and/or integrity, presence of another device,software versions, required software, etc. For example, educationalsettings may designate student and instructor groups. These groups maybe further assigned to specific classes such that only student groupmembers associated with a given class may access content associated withthat class. Further, edit access to the content for the class may berestricted to the user(s) in the instructor group and/or student groupmembers may be permitted to add content that only the instructor mayview (e.g., homework assignments.) In some embodiments, the instructorgroup user(s) may be able to push content to student group user(s)and/or activate temporary control of the students' devices to preventthe devices from accessing non-class related content during class time.

To reduce the cost of ownership of user devices and cellular and/or dataservice charges associated with use of such user devices, an enterprisesuch as an educational institution and/or a business may implement a“bring your own device” (BYOD) policy to allow an employee to usehis/her personal device to access enterprise resources rather thanprovide the user with an enterprise owned user device for such purpose.To support such a BYOD policy, a user device administrator (i.e. ITadministrator) may manage a group of personally owned user devices, viaa management application executed by a management server incommunication with the user devices over a network, to provide the userdevices with secure access to enterprise resources.

The user device administrator may enroll user devices into themanagement system to monitor the user devices for securityvulnerabilities and to configure the user devices for secure access toenterprise resources. The user device administrator may create and/orconfigure at least one configuration profile via a user interfaceprovided by the management system. A configuration profile may comprisea set of instructions and/or settings that configure the operationsand/or functions of a user device, which may ensure the security of theaccessed resources. The user device administrator may, for instance,configure an enterprise email configuration profile by specifying thenetwork address and access credentials of an enterprise email accountthat the users of the user devices are authorized to access. Otherconfiguration policies may include, but are not limited to, hardware,software, application, function, cellular, text message, and data userestrictions, which may be based at least in part on the current timeand/or location of the restricted user device. The user deviceadministrator may thereafter deploy the configuration profiles tospecific user devices, such as to groups of user devices of users withsimilar roles, privileges and/or titles.

Access credentials may uniquely identify a client device and/or the userof the client device. For example, the access credentials for a user maycomprise a username, a password, and/or biometric data related to facialrecognition, retina recognition, fingerprint recognition, and the like.Access credentials related to a device may uniquely identify the deviceand may comprise, for example, a unique hardware identifier such as aGUID (Globally Unique Identifier), UUID (Universally Unique Identifier),UDID (Unique Device Identifier), serial number, IMEI (InternationallyMobile Equipment Identity), Wi-Fi MAC (Media Access Control) address,Bluetooth MAC address, a CPU ID, and/or the like, or any combination oftwo or more such hardware identifiers. Additionally, the accesscredentials may be represented by a unique software identifier such atoken or certificate, based at least in part on the aforementionedunique hardware identifiers.

The user devices may also have access to personal configuration profilesthat may be created by the users of the user devices. The user devicesmay, for instance, have access to a personal email configuration profilethat was created by a user of the user device to provide access to herpersonal email account. Thus, a user device enrolled in a BYODmanagement system may have more than one configuration profile for agiven use of the user device, such as a personal email configurationprofile and an enterprise email configuration profile that are both usedfor accessing email accounts on the user device.

The user devices may be instructed to enable and/or disable certainconfiguration profiles according to authorization rights specified bythe user device administrator, such as location and/or time-basedauthorization rights. For example, a BYOD policy may specify that userdevices enrolled in the BYOD management system are authorized forpersonal use outside of the workday and are authorized for business useduring the workday. Similarly, a BYOD device may be restricted toenterprise uses while in work locations and/or prohibited from accessingenterprise resources while outside of secure work locations. Toimplement such a policy, a user device administrator may instruct theuser devices to toggle between personal configuration policies andenterprise configuration policies based on factors such as the currenttime and/or location associated with the user device.

The current time may be based on the current time at the currentlocation of the user device, which may be determined by GPS, Wi-Fi,Cellular Triangulation, etc., or may be based on the current time at aconfigured primary location associated with the user device, which maybe the primary office location of an employee user of the user device.As an example, time-based configuration profile toggling may be providedby instructing a user device to enable business configuration profilesand disable personal configuration profiles while the current time isbetween 9 AM and 5 PM at the current location of the user device, and todisable business configuration profiles and enable personalconfiguration profiles while the current time is between 5 PM and 9 AMat the current location of the user device.

FIG. 1 illustrates a networked environment 100 according to variousembodiments. The networked environment 100 includes a network 110, aclient device 120, a remote server 130, and a compliance server 140. Thenetwork 110 comprises, for example any type of wireless network such asa wireless local area network (WLAN), a wireless wide area network(WWAN), and/or any other type of wireless network now known and/or laterdeveloped. Additionally, the network 110 may comprise the Internet,intranets, extranets, microwave networks, satellite communications,cellular systems, PCS, infrared communications, global area networks,and/or other suitable networks, etc., and/or any combination of two ormore such networks. It should be understood that embodiments describedherein may be used to advantage in any type or combination of wiredand/or wireless networks.

In some embodiments, the network 110 facilitates the transport of databetween at least one client device, such as client device 120, theremote server 130, and the compliance server 140. Client devices mayinclude a laptop computer, a personal digital assistant, a cellulartelephone, a set-top device, music players, web pads, tablet computersystems, game consoles, and/or other devices with like capability.Client device 120 comprises a wireless network connectivity component,for example, a PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) card, USB(Universal Serial Bus), PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory CardInternational Association) card, SDIO (Secure Digital Input-Output)card, NewCard, Cardbus, a modem, a wireless radio transceiver (includingan RFID transceiver), near-field communications (NFC) transceiver,and/or the like. Additionally, the client device 120 may include aprocessor for executing applications and/or services, and a memoryaccessible by the processor to store data and other information. Theclient device 120 is operable to communicate wirelessly with the remoteserver 130 and the compliance server 140 with the aid of the wirelessnetwork connectivity component.

Additionally, the client device 120 may store in memory an agent app122, a device profile 124, user access credentials 126, and potentiallyother data and/or applications. In some embodiments, the device profile124 may include a software identifier, a hardware identifier, and/or acombination of software and hardware identifiers. For instance, thedevice identifier may be a unique hardware identifier such as a MACaddress, a CPU ID, and/or other hardware identifiers. The user accesscredentials 126 may include a username, a password, and/or biometricdata related to facial recognition, retina recognition, fingerprintrecognition, and the like. Additionally, the device profile 124 mayinclude a listing of hardware and software attributes that describe theclient device 120. For instance, the device profile 124 may includehardware specifications of the client device 120, version information ofvarious software installed on the client device 120, and/or any otherhardware/software attributes. Additionally, the device profile 124 mayalso include data indicating a date of last virus scan, a date of lastaccess by IT, a date of last tune-up by IT, and/or any other dataindicating a date of last device check.

The client device 120 may further be configured to execute variousapplications such as the agent application 122. The agent application122 may be executed to exchange information with other servers and/ordevices via network 110. In some embodiments, agent application 122 maycollect information about the status of client device 120 as well asreceive and/or enforce compliance rules 142 from compliance server 140.

The client device 120 may also be configured to execute otherapplications such as, for example, browser applications, emailapplications, physical access applications, word processingapplications, spreadsheet applications, database applications, and/orother applications. For instance, a browser and/or word processingapplication may be executed in the client device 120, for example, toaccess and render network pages, such as web pages, documents, and/orother network content served up by remote server 130, the complianceserver 140, and/or any other computing system.

The remote server 130 and the compliance server 140 can each beimplemented as, for example, a server computer and/or any other systemcapable of providing computing capability. Further, the remote server130, compliance server 140, and any other system described herein may beconfigured with logic for performing the methods described in thisdisclosure. Although one remote server 130 and one compliance server 140are depicted in FIG. 1, certain embodiments of the networked environment100 include more than one remote server 130 and/or compliance server140. At least one of the servers may be employed and arranged, forexample, in at least one server bank, computer bank, and/or otherarrangements. For example, the server computers together may include acloud computing resource, a grid computing resource, and/or any otherdistributed computing arrangement. Such server computers may be locatedin a single installation and/or may be distributed among many differentgeographical locations. For purposes of convenience, the remote server130 and the compliance server 140 are each referred to herein in thesingular.

Various applications and/or other functionality may be executed in theremote server 130 and the compliance server 140, respectively, accordingto certain embodiments. Also, various data is stored in a data storethat is part of and/or otherwise accessible to the remote server 130and/or that is part of and/or otherwise accessible to the complianceserver 140. The data stored in each of the data stores may be accessed,modified, removed, and/or otherwise manipulated in association with theoperation of the applications and/or functional entities describedherein.

The components executed in the remote server 130 may include anauthentication service 132, and may include other applications,services, processes, systems, engines, and/or functionality notdiscussed in detail herein. As used herein, the term “authenticationservice” is meant to generally refer to computer-executable instructionsfor performing the functionality described herein for authorizing andauthenticating client device 120. The authentication service 132 isexecuted to receive a request for access to resources 136 from anapplication executed on client device 120 and to determine whether togrant or deny the request. Upon determining to grant the request 136,the authentication service 132 may then send access credentials.

The data stored in the data store of the remote server 130 may include,for example, approved device identifiers, approved user accesscredentials, physical access credentials, resource access credentials,and potentially other data. The approved device identifiers represents alisting of device identifiers that have been pre-approved for potentialaccessing physical access credentials which may entitle holders ofclient devices 120 to access to various resources. The approved deviceidentifiers may have been previously provided to the remote server 130by a system administrator and/or the like. The approved user accesscredentials represent a listing of user access credentials that havebeen pre-approved for potential accessing resource credentials.

The components executed in the compliance server 140 include acompliance service 143, and may include other applications, services,processes, systems, engines, and/or functionality not discussed indetail herein. As used herein, the term “compliance service” is meant togenerally refer to computer-executable instructions for performing thefunctionality described herein for authorizing the devicecharacteristics of another device, such as client device 120. Thecompliance service 143 is executed to determine whether the devicecharacteristics of the client device 120 comply with the compliancerules 142 that are stored in the data store. For instance, thecompliance service 143 may identify the device characteristics from thedevice profile 124 of each client device 120. Additionally, thecompliance rules 142 represents a listing of management and securitypolicies, hardware restrictions, software restrictions, and/or mobiledevice management restrictions that may need to be satisfied by theclient device 120 prior to granting the request for access toresource(s) 136.

In some embodiments, hardware restrictions included in the compliancerules 142 may comprise restrictions regarding use of specific clientdevices 120 and specific client device features, such as, for instance,cameras, Bluetooth, IRDA, tethering, external storage, a mobile accesspoint, and/or other hardware restrictions. Software restrictionsincluded in the compliance rules 142 may comprise restrictions regardingthe use of specific client device operating systems and/or otherapplications, internet browser restrictions, screen capturefunctionality, and/or other software restrictions. Mobile devicemanagement restrictions included in the compliance rules 142 compriseencryption requirements, firmware versions, remote lock and wipefunctionalities, logging and reporting features, GPS tracking, and/orother mobile device management features.

The compliance service 143 may determine whether the devicecharacteristics of a client device 120 satisfy at least one of therestrictions enumerated in the compliance rules 142. For example, thecompliance service 143 may determine that a client device 120 that has acamera, Bluetooth capability, and is executing a specified version of anoperating system is compliant with the compliance rules 142. As anotherexample, the compliance service 143 may determine that a client device120 that is associated with an external storage unit and has screencapture functionality enabled is not compliant with the compliance rules142. All of these restrictions discussed above may affect whether theclient device 120 is entitled to use a given resource(s). In someembodiments, however, the compliance service 143 may not be used andphysical access authorization may be determined solely based on approveduser access credentials and/or approved device identifiers.

A user operating a client device 120 may wish to receive at least oneresource(s) so that the user may physical access a building, location,door, gate, drawer, filing cabinet, storage unit, cabinet, etc. In someembodiments, the user may interact with an input device to manipulate anetwork page displayed by a locally executed application, such as abrowser application, to generate the request for access to resource(s)136. In some embodiments, the user may manipulate a user interfacegenerated by a locally executed application to generate the request. Ineither case, the user may provide login information and/or theapplication may automatically retrieve the login information from thememory of the client device 120. Login information may be, for instance,a unique user name, a password, biometric data, and/or other types ofuser access credentials 126. The application may then communicate therequest to the enterprise access application, which may generate andtransmit the request to the authentication service 132. In someembodiments, the enterprise access application may itself receive theinput from the user directly and then transmit the access request to theremote server 130.

Upon receiving the request, the authentication service 132 determineswhether to grant or deny the request. In some embodiments, theauthentication service 132 may first authenticate the client device 120and the user operating the client device 120. To this end, theauthentication service 132 determines whether the device identifierassociated with the client device 120 matches one of the identifierslisted in the listing of approved identifiers. For instance, the deviceidentifier of the client device 120 may be included as part of therequest transmitted by the enterprise access application. In someembodiments, the authentication service 132 may request the deviceidentifier from the client device 120 in response to receiving theaccess request. Upon identifying and/or receiving the device identifier,the authentication service 132 determines whether the device identifiermatches one of the approved identifiers stored in the data store. Insome embodiments, the authentication service 132 may authenticate theclient device 120 dynamically by determining whether the deviceidentifier is within a predetermined range of approved deviceidentifiers. In some embodiments, the authentication service 132 mayauthenticate the client device 120 dynamically by performing analgorithm on the device identifier.

Additionally, the authentication service 135 may also authenticate theuser operating the client device 120 by determining whether the useraccess credentials 126 associated with the user match one of thecredentials in the listing of approved user access credentials. Forinstance, the user access credentials 126 associated with the user onthe client device 120 may be included as part of the access request 136transmitted by the enterprise access application 124. In someembodiments, the authentication service 132 may request the user accesscredentials 126 from the client device 120 in response to receiving theaccess request. Upon identifying and/or requesting the user accesscredentials 126, the authentication service 135 may determine whetherthe user access credentials 126 matches one of the approved user accesscredentials stored in the data store. In some embodiments, theauthentication service 132 may authenticate the user operating theclient device 120 without also authenticating the client device 120. Inother words, certain authenticated users may be authorized to gain therequested physical access regardless of what device they used to submitthe resource request.

In some embodiments, having authenticated the client device 120 and theuser operating the client device 120 as authorized to receive theresource(s), the authentication service 132 communicates with thecompliance service 143 to further authorize the client device 120 toreceive the resource(s). In some embodiments, the compliance service 143authorizes the client device 120 by determining whether devicecharacteristics of the client device 120 comply with applicablecompliance rules 142. For instance, the compliance service 143 mayidentify the device characteristics of the client device 120 from thedevice profile 124. All or part of the device profile 124 may have beenprovided by the client device 120 in conjunction with the request 136and/or may be subsequently requested from the client device 120 by theauthentication service 135 and/or the compliance service 143. Thecompliance service 143 then analyzes the device characteristics todetermine whether the software restrictions, hardware restrictions,and/or device management restrictions defined in the compliance rules142 are satisfied and returns the result of the determination to theauthentication service 132. In an alternative embodiment, theauthentication service 132 may include and perform functionality fordetermining whether the client device 120 complies with the compliancerules 143.

If the authentication service 132 determines and/or receives adetermination that the client device 120 is authorized, theauthentication service 135 then associates the client device 120 with atleast one resource(s). In some embodiments, the authentication service132 sends the physical access credentials to the client device 120 andauthorizes the client device 120 to use such credentials in connectionwith accessing physical access points. In some embodiments, theauthentication service 132 may also send the physical access credentialsto physical access point.

In some embodiments, the resource(s) may be revoked at any time by theremote server 130. Revocation may occur for any number of reasons,including but not limited to, a change in device profile 124, a changein approved device identifiers, a change in approved user accesscredentials, expiration of a defined time period, and/or a request fromthe user of the client device 120.

FIG. 2 is a flow chart setting forth the general stages involved in amethod 200 consistent with embodiments of this disclosure for providinglimited duration content access. Method 200 may be implemented usingelements of operating environment 100 as described above, an example usecase deployment 300, a schematic block diagram 400 and a virtual desktopinfrastructure (VDI) system 500, as described below. Method 200 isdescribed below with respect to operations performed by a computingdevice, with the understanding that such a computing device may compriseany number devices programmed for operation of any and/or all of thesteps of method 200. The described computing device may comprise, forexample, client device 120, remote server 130, compliance server 140,and/or physical access point 150. Ways to implement the stages of method200 will be described in greater detail below.

Method 200 may begin at stage 205 where a computing device may create anevent. For example, a user of a typical calendaring application maycreate a calendar event with a defined start and/or end time. It shouldbe appreciated that numerous applications and ways exist to define atime period for an event and that a calendaring application is simplyused as an example. In some embodiments, the event may be associatedwith a plurality of attendees who will be sent invitations to the event.

Method 200 may then advance to stage 210 where the computing device mayattach content to the event. For example, a document, multimedia file,presentation, recording, etc. may be attached to the calendar event as adownloadable file.

Method 200 may then advance to stage 215 where the computing device maygenerate a security certificate according to a public key cryptographyalgorithm. Such a certificate normally comprises a public key and aprivate key as well as a unique issuer identifier. This certificate maybe generated by remote server 130 serving as a cryptographic service. Aroot certificate associate with remote server 130 may be installed onclient device 120, allowing remote server 130 to be authenticated as avalid cryptographic key service. Because the root certificate on clientdevice 120 creates a trusted relationship with remote server 130,applications on the device will accept the generated certificate foruse.

Public-key cryptography, also known as asymmetric cryptography, is aclass of cryptographic algorithms that requires two separate keys, oneof which is secret (or private) and one of which is public. Althoughdifferent, the two parts of this key pair are mathematically linked. Thepublic key may be used to encrypt data and/or to verify a digitalsignature; whereas the private key is used to decrypt ciphertext or tocreate a digital signature.

Public-key algorithms are based on mathematical problems that currentlyadmit no efficient solution that are inherent in certain integerfactorization, discrete logarithm, and elliptic curve relationships. Itis computationally easy for a user to generate their own public andprivate key-pair and to use them for encryption and decryption. Thestrength lies in the fact that it is “impossible” (computationallyunfeasible) for a properly generated private key to be determined fromits corresponding public key.

Public-key algorithms are fundamental security ingredients incryptosystems, applications and protocols. They underpin such Internetstandards as Transport Layer Security (TLS), PGP, and GPG. Some publickey algorithms provide key distribution and secrecy (e.g.,Diffie-Hellman key exchange), some provide digital signatures (e.g.,Digital Signature Algorithm), and some provide both (e.g., RSA).

A public key infrastructure (PKI) is a set of hardware, software,people, policies, and procedures needed to create, manage, distribute,use, store, and revoke digital certificates. In cryptography, a PKI isan arrangement that binds public keys with respective user identities bymeans of a certificate authority (CA). The user identity must be uniquewithin each CA domain. The third-party validation authority (VA) canprovide this information on behalf of CA. The binding is establishedthrough the registration and issuance process, which, depending on theassurance level of the binding, may be carried out by software at a CAor under human supervision. The PKI role that assures this binding iscalled the registration authority (RA), which ensures that the publickey is bound to the individual to which it is assigned in a way thatensures non-repudiation.

After generating the certificate at stage 215, method 200 may advance tostage 220 where the computing device may encrypt the content accordingto the public key portion of the security certificate. For example, thepublic key may be transmitted from remote server 130 to client device120, such as via an application configuration channel that may be usedto communicate data across a network. In some embodiments, the computingdevice, such as client device 120, may need to be verified to be incompliance with compliance rules 142 before the key may be used toencrypt the data.

Method 200 may then advance to stage 225 where the computing device maydistribute the content. For example, client device 120 may send calendarinvitations to the selected attendees as emails with the encryptedcontent attached. In some embodiments, the encrypted content may be sentto the remote server 130 to be retrieved by authorized users and/ordevices. The event time period during which the content is to be madeaccessible may also be distributed to the authorized users and/ordevices, as may the public key generated at stage 215. Authorized usersmay similarly encrypt and distribute additional content for use duringthe same or another event period.

Method 200 may then advance to stage 230 where the computing device maydetermine whether the event time period has been reached. For example,client device 120 may receive a request from a user to decrypt thedocument. The client device 120 may then determine whether the currenttime is within the time period defined by the event. In someembodiments, the agent app 122 may also verify that the client device120 is in compliance with the compliance rules 142 before permitting thedecryption. In some embodiments, the current time may be verified withanother source, such as remote server 130, compliance server 140, and/ora public time server rather than relying on the current time accordingto the client device 120 itself. In some embodiments, the content may bedecrypted automatically when the event start time is reached and/or maybe decrypted in response to an instruction from remote server 130 and/orcompliance server 140.

If the current time is not within the event period, the content will notbe decrypted. In some embodiments, an alert that an unauthorized attemptwas made to access the content may be transmitted to compliance server140, the creator of the event, and/or other attendees of the event.Otherwise, method 200 may advance to stage 235 where the computingdevice may decrypt the content. For example, the private key associatedwith the security certificate may be distributed to the attendees of themeeting. In some embodiments, the private key may only be sent to thosewho accepted the meeting invite or who are physically present at ameeting. In some embodiments, the content may be deleted at theconclusion of the event time. Method 200 may then end.

FIG. 3 is a block diagram of an example use case deployment 300providing a cryptographic server 310. Cryptographic server 310 mayoperate as a certificate authority comprising a key library 315.Communication system 300 may also comprise a plurality of attendeedevices 320(A)-(B), each of which may comprise a copy of an encryptedcontent file 325(A)-(B). In one example embodiment, once the event starttime has been reached, compliance server 140 may instruct cryptographicserver 310 to release the private key. Cryptographic server 310 may sendthe private key to attendee devices 320(A)-(B), which may then use it todecrypt encrypted content 325(A)-(B).

In cryptography, a certificate authority (CA) is an entity that issuesdigital certificates. The digital certificate certifies the ownership ofa public key by the named subject of the certificate. This allows others(relying parties) to rely upon signatures or assertions made by theprivate key that corresponds to the public key that is certified. Inthis model of trust relationships, a CA is a trusted third party that istrusted by both the subject (owner) of the certificate and the partyrelying upon the certificate. CAs are characteristic of many public keyinfrastructure (PKI) schemes.

FIG. 4 illustrates schematic block diagram 400 of the remote server 130and the client device 140 according to embodiments of the presentdisclosure. The remote server 130 includes at least one processorcircuit, for example, having a processor 403 and a memory 406, both ofwhich are coupled to a local interface 409. To this end, the remoteserver 130 may comprise, for example, at least one server computerand/or like device. Similarly, the client device 140 includes at leastone processor circuit, for example, having a processor 413 and a memory416, both of which are coupled to a local interface 419. Additionally,the client device 120 may be in data communication with a display forrendering user interfaces and at least one other I/O device forinputting and outputting data. To this end, the client device 140 maycomprise, for example, at least one mobile wireless device, computer,and/or like device. The local interfaces 409 and 419 may comprise, forexample, a data bus with an accompanying address/control bus and/orother bus structure as can be appreciated.

Stored in the memories 406 and 416 are both data and several componentsthat are executable by the processors 403 and 413. In particular, storedin the memory 406/416 and executable by the processors 403 and 413 are aauthentication service 135, an enterprise access application 124, andpotentially other applications. Also stored in the memories 406 and 416may be a data stores 131 and 418 and other data. In addition, anoperating system may be stored in the memories 406 and 416 andexecutable by the processors 403 and 413.

It is to be understood that there may be other applications that arestored in the memories 406 and 416 and are executable by the processors403 and 413 as can be appreciated. Where any component discussed hereinis implemented in the form of software, any one of a number ofprogramming languages may be employed such as, for example, C, C++, C#,Objective C, Java, JavaScript, Perl, PHP, Visual Basic, Python, Ruby,Delphi, Flash, and/or other programming languages.

A number of software components are stored in the memories 406 and 416and are executable by the processors 403 and 413. In this respect, theterm “executable” means a program file that is in a form that canultimately be run by the processors 403 and 413. Examples of executableprograms may be, for example, a compiled program that can be translatedinto machine code in a format that can be loaded into a random accessportion of the memories 406 and 416 and run by the processors 403 and413, source code that may be expressed in proper format such as objectcode that is capable of being loaded into a random access portion of thememory 406/416 and executed by the processors 403 and 413, and/or sourcecode that may be interpreted by another executable program to generateinstructions in a random access portion of the memories 406 and 416 tobe executed by the processors 403 and 413, etc. An executable programmay be stored in any portion and/or component of the memories 406 and416 including, for example, random access memory (RAM), read-only memory(ROM), hard drive, solid-state drive, USB flash drive, memory card,optical disc such as compact disc (CD) and/or digital versatile disc(DVD), floppy disk, magnetic tape, and/or other memory components.

The memories 406 and 416 is defined herein as including both volatileand nonvolatile memory and data storage components. Volatile componentsare those that do not retain data values upon loss of power. Nonvolatilecomponents are those that retain data upon a loss of power. Thus, thememories 406 and 416 may comprise, for example, random access memory(RAM), read-only memory (ROM), hard disk drives, solid-state drives, USBflash drives, memory cards accessed via a memory card reader, floppydisks accessed via an associated floppy disk drive, optical discsaccessed via an optical disc drive, magnetic tapes accessed via anappropriate tape drive, and/or other memory components, and/or acombination of any two and/or more of these memory components. Inaddition, the RAM may comprise, for example, static random access memory(SRAM), dynamic random access memory (DRAM), and/or magnetic randomaccess memory (MRAM) and other such devices. The ROM may comprise, forexample, a programmable read-only memory (PROM), an erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EPROM), an electrically erasableprogrammable read-only memory (EEPROM), and/or other like memory device.

Also, the processors 403 and 413 may represent multiple processors, andthe memories 406 and 416 may represent multiple memories that operate inparallel processing circuits, respectively. In such a case, the localinterfaces 409 and 419 may be an appropriate network 109 (FIG. 1) thatfacilitates communication between any two of the multiple processors 403and 413, and/or between any two of the memories 406 and 416, etc. Thelocal interfaces 409 and 419 may comprise additional systems designed tocoordinate this communication, including, for example, performing loadbalancing. The processors 403 and 413 may be of electrical and/or ofsome other available construction.

Although the authentication service 135, the enterprise applicationservice 124, and other various systems described herein may be embodiedin software and/or code executed by general purpose hardware asdiscussed above, as an alternative the same may also be embodied indedicated hardware and/or a combination of software/general purposehardware and dedicated hardware. If embodied in dedicated hardware, eachcan be implemented as a circuit and/or state machine that employs anyone of and/or a combination of a number of technologies. Thesetechnologies may include, but are not limited to, discrete logiccircuits having logic gates for implementing various logic functionsupon an application of at least one data signal, application specificintegrated circuits having appropriate logic gates, and/or othercomponents, etc.

FIG. 5 illustrates components of a virtual desktop infrastructure (VDI)system 500 in which embodiments of the present disclosure may beimplemented. In VDI system 500, VDI client software programs such as VDIclient 510, run on operating systems of local computing devices, e.g.,client machine 508 on top of an operating system (OS) 511. VDI clientsprovides an interface for the users to access their desktops, which maybe running in one of virtual machines 557 or blade server (not shown) ina data center that is remote from the users' locations. The term“desktop” may refer to the instance of an interactive operatingenvironment provided by a computer operating system and softwareapplications, typically in the form of a display and sound output andkeyboard and mouse input. With VDI clients, users can access desktopsrunning in a remote data center through network 110, from any location,using a general purpose computer running a commodity operating systemand a VDI client software program such as VMware® View, or a specialpurpose thin client such as those available from Dell, HP, NEC, SunMicrosystems, Wyse, and others.

VDI system 500 may include a domain controller 535, such as Microsoft®Active Directory® that manages user accounts 536 including user log-ininformation, and a connection broker 537 that manages connectionsbetween VDI clients and desktops running in virtual machines 557 orother platforms. Domain controller 535 and connection broker 537 may runon separate servers or in separate virtual machines running on the sameserver or different servers. In the embodiments of the presentdisclosure illustrated herein, desktops are running in virtual machines557 are instantiated on a plurality of physical computers 550, 552, 554,each of which includes virtualization software 558 and hardware 559.Physical computes 550, 552, 554 may be controlled by a virtual machinemanagement server 540, and be coupled to a shared persistent storagesystem 560.

All of the components of VDI system 500 communicate via network 110. Forsimplicity, a single network is shown but it should be recognized that,in actual implementations, the components of VDI system 500 may beconnected over the same network or different networks. Furthermore, aparticular configuration of the virtualized desktop infrastructure isdescribed above and illustrated in FIG. 5, but it should be recognizedthat one or more embodiments of the present disclosure may be practicedwith other configurations of the virtualized desktop infrastructure.

The embodiments and functionalities described herein may operate via amultitude of computing systems, including wired and wireless computingsystems, mobile computing systems (e.g., mobile telephones, tablet orslate type computers, laptop computers, etc.). In addition, theembodiments and functionalities described herein may operate overdistributed systems, where application functionality, memory, datastorage and retrieval and various processing functions may be operatedremotely from each other over a distributed computing network, such asthe Internet or an intranet. User interfaces and information of varioustypes may be displayed via on-board computing device displays or viaremote display units associated with one or more computing devices. Forexample user interfaces and information of various types may bedisplayed and interacted with on a wall surface onto which userinterfaces and information of various types are projected. Interactionwith the multitude of computing systems with which embodiments of thisdisclosure may be practiced include, keystroke entry, touch screenentry, voice or other audio entry, gesture entry where an associatedcomputing device is equipped with detection (e.g., camera) functionalityfor capturing and interpreting user gestures for controlling thefunctionality of the computing device, and the like. The Figures aboveand their associated descriptions provide a discussion of a variety ofoperating environments in which embodiments of this disclosure may bepracticed. However, the devices and systems illustrated and discussedwith respect to the Figures are for purposes of example and illustrationand are not limiting of a vast number of computing device configurationsthat may be utilized for practicing embodiments of this disclosure asdescribed herein.

The term computer readable media as used herein may include computerstorage media. Computer storage media may include volatile andnonvolatile, removable and non-removable media implemented in any methodor technology for storage of information, such as computer readableinstructions, data structures, program modules, or other data. Systemmemory, removable storage, and non-removable storage are all computerstorage media examples (i.e., memory storage.) Computer storage mediamay include, but is not limited to, RAM, ROM, electrically erasableread-only memory (EEPROM), flash memory or other memory technology,CD-ROM, digital versatile disks (DVD) or other optical storage, magneticcassettes, magnetic tape, magnetic disk storage or other magneticstorage devices, or any other medium which can be used to store.

The term computer readable media as used herein may also includecommunication media. Communication media may be embodied by computerreadable instructions, data structures, program modules, non-transitorymedia, and/or other data in a modulated data signal, such as a carrierwave or other transport mechanism, and includes any information deliverymedia. The term “modulated data signal” may describe a signal that hasone or more characteristics set or changed in such a manner as to encodeinformation in the signal. By way of example, and not limitation,communication media may include wired media such as a wired network ordirect-wired connection, and wireless media such as acoustic, radiofrequency (RF), infrared, and other wireless media.

A number of applications and data files may be used to perform processesand/or methods as described above. The aforementioned processes areexamples, and a processing unit may perform other processes. Otherprogramming modules that may be used in accordance with embodiments ofthis disclosure may include electronic mail, calendar, and contactsapplications, data processing applications, word processingapplications, spreadsheet applications, database applications, slidepresentation applications, drawing or computer-aided applicationprograms, etc.

Generally, consistent with embodiments of this disclosure, programmodules may include routines, programs, components, data structures, andother types of structures that may perform particular tasks or that mayimplement particular abstract data types. Moreover, embodiments of thedisclosure may be practiced with other computer system configurations,including hand-held devices, multiprocessor systems,microprocessor-based or programmable consumer electronics,minicomputers, mainframe computers, and the like. Embodiments of thisdisclosure may also be practiced in distributed computing environmentswhere tasks are performed by remote processing devices that are linkedthrough a communications network. In a distributed computingenvironment, program modules may be located in both local and remotememory storage devices.

Furthermore, embodiments of this disclosure may be practiced in anelectrical circuit comprising discrete electronic elements, packaged orintegrated electronic chips containing logic gates, a circuit utilizinga microprocessor, or on a single chip containing electronic elements ormicroprocessors. Embodiments of this disclosure may also be practicedusing other technologies capable of performing logical operations suchas, for example, AND, OR, and NOT, including but not limited tomechanical, optical, fluidic, and quantum technologies. In addition,embodiments of the disclosure may be practiced within a general purposecomputer or in any other circuits or systems.

Embodiments of this disclosure may, for example, be implemented as acomputer process and/or method, a computing system, an apparatus,device, or appliance, and/or as an article of manufacture, such as acomputer program product or computer readable media. The computerprogram product may be a computer storage media readable by a computersystem and encoding a computer program of instructions for executing acomputer process. The computer program product may also be a propagatedsignal on a carrier readable by a computing system and encoding acomputer program of instructions for executing a computer process.Accordingly, the present disclosure may be embodied in hardware and/orin software (including firmware, resident software, micro-code, etc.).In other words, embodiments of the present disclosure may take the formof a computer program product on a computer-usable or computer-readablestorage medium having computer-usable or computer-readable program codeembodied in the medium for use by or in connection with an instructionexecution system. A computer-usable or computer-readable medium may beany medium that can contain, store, communicate, propagate, or transportthe program for use by or in connection with the instruction executionsystem, apparatus, or device.

The computer-usable or computer-readable medium may be, for example butnot limited to, an electronic, magnetic, optical, electromagnetic,infrared, or semiconductor system, apparatus, device, or propagationmedium. More specific computer-readable medium examples (anon-exhaustive list), the computer-readable medium may include thefollowing: an electrical connection having one or more wires, a portablecomputer diskette, a random access memory (RAM), a read-only memory(ROM), an erasable programmable read-only memory (EPROM or Flashmemory), an optical fiber, and a portable compact disc read-only memory(CD-ROM). Note that the computer-usable or computer-readable mediumcould even be paper or another suitable medium upon which the program isprinted, as the program can be electronically captured, via, forinstance, optical scanning of the paper or other medium, then compiled,interpreted, or otherwise processed in a suitable manner, if necessary,and then stored in a computer memory.

Embodiments of this disclosure may be practiced via a system-on-a-chip(SOC) where each and/or many of the elements described above may beintegrated onto a single integrated circuit. Such an SOC device mayinclude one or more processing units, graphics units, communicationsunits, system virtualization units and various applicationfunctionalities, all of which may be integrated (or “burned”) onto thechip substrate as a single integrated circuit. When operating via anSOC, the functionality, described herein, with respect to trainingand/or interacting with any element may operate via application-specificlogic integrated with other components of the computing device/system onthe single integrated circuit (chip).

Embodiments of this disclosure are described above with reference toblock diagrams and/or operational illustrations of methods, systems, andcomputer program products according to embodiments of the disclosure.The functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur out of the order asshown in any flowchart. For example, two blocks shown in succession mayin fact be executed substantially concurrently or the blocks maysometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending upon thefunctionality/acts involved.

While certain embodiments have been described, other embodiments mayexist. Furthermore, although embodiments of the present disclosure havebeen described as being associated with data stored in memory and otherstorage mediums, data can also be stored on or read from other types ofcomputer-readable media, such as secondary storage devices, like harddisks, floppy disks, or a CD-ROM, a carrier wave from the Internet, orother forms of RAM or ROM. Further, the disclosed methods' stages may bemodified in any manner, including by reordering stages and/or insertingor deleting stages, without departing from the disclosure.

Embodiments of the present disclosure, for example, are described abovewith reference to block diagrams and/or operational illustrations ofmethods, systems, and computer program products according to embodimentsof the disclosure. The functions/acts noted in the blocks may occur outof the order as shown in any flowchart. For example, two blocks shown insuccession may in fact be executed substantially concurrently or theblocks may sometimes be executed in the reverse order, depending uponthe functionality/acts involved.

While certain embodiments of the disclosure have been described, otherembodiments may exist. Furthermore, although embodiments of the presentdisclosure have been described as being associated with data stored inmemory and other storage mediums, data can also be stored on or readfrom other types of computer-readable media, such as secondary storagedevices, like hard disks, floppy disks, or a CD-ROM, a carrier wave fromthe Internet, or other forms of RAM or ROM. Further, the disclosedmethods' stages may be modified in any manner, including by reorderingstages and/or inserting or deleting stages, without departing from thedisclosure.

All rights including copyrights in the code included herein are vestedin and the property of the Assignee. The Assignee retains and reservesall rights in the code included herein, and grants permission toreproduce the material only in connection with reproduction of thegranted patent and for no other purpose.

While the specification includes examples, the disclosure's scope isindicated by the following claims. Furthermore, while the specificationhas been described in language specific to structural features and/ormethodological acts, the claims are not limited to the features or actsdescribed above. Rather, the specific features and acts described aboveare disclosed as example for embodiments of the disclosure.

What is claimed is:
 1. A system comprising: a memory store; and aprocessor coupled to the memory store, wherein the processor isconfigured to execute an application comprising: logic that creates acalendar event associated with a plurality of attendee users, logic thatencrypts a content element associated with the calendar event, logicthat distributes the encrypted content element to each of the pluralityof attendee users, logic that determines whether a current time iswithin a time period associated with the calendar event, and in responseto determining that the current time is within the time periodassociated with the calendar event, logic that distributes a decryptionkey for the encrypted content element to at least one of the pluralityof attendee users.
 2. The system of claim 1, wherein the logic thatdetermines whether the current time falls within the time periodassociated with the calendar event occurs in response to a request toview the encrypted content element.
 3. The system of claim 2, furthercomprising: in response to determining that the current time does notfall within the time period associated with the calendar event, logicthat provides a notification of an unauthorized access attempt.
 4. Thesystem of claim 3, wherein the notification is provided to a complianceserver.
 5. The system of claim 3, wherein the notification is providedto an organizer of the calendar event.
 6. The system of claim 3, whereinthe decryption key is sent to a document viewing application separatefrom an e-mail application that receives the calendar event.
 7. Thesystem of claim 3, further comprising logic that, prior to deliveringthe decryption key, determines whether each of the attendee users hasaccepted the calendar invitation, and: if the attendee user has acceptedthe calendar invitation, distributes the decryption key; and if theattendee user has not accepted the calendar invitation, does notdistribute the decryption key.
 8. A method for securely distributioncontent elements associated with a calendar event, comprising: creatinga calendar event associated with a plurality of attendee users;encrypting a content element associated with the calendar event;distributing the encrypted content element to each of the plurality ofattendee users; determining whether a current time is within a timeperiod associated with the calendar event; and in response todetermining that the current time is within the time period associatedwith the calendar event, logic that distributes a decryption key for theencrypted content element to at least one of the plurality of attendeeusers.
 9. The method of claim 8, wherein determining whether the currenttime falls within the time period associated with the calendar eventoccurs in response to a request to view the encrypted content element.10. The method of claim 9, further comprising: in response todetermining that the current time does not fall within the time periodassociated with the calendar event, providing a notification of anunauthorized access attempt.
 11. The method of claim 8, wherein thenotification is provided to a compliance server.
 12. The method of claim8, wherein the notification is provided to an organizer of the calendarevent.
 13. The method of claim 8, wherein the content element and thedecryption key are sent to a document viewing application separate froman e-mail application that receives the calendar event.
 14. The methodof claim 8, further comprising, prior to delivering the decryption key,determining whether each of the attendee users has accepted the calendarinvitation, and: if the attendee user has accepted the calendarinvitation, distributing the decryption key; and if the attendee userhas not accepted the calendar invitation, preventing distribution of thedecryption key.
 15. A non-transitory computer readable medium comprisinginstructions which, when executed by a processor, securely distributecontent elements associated with a calendar event by: creating acalendar event associated with a plurality of attendee users; encryptinga content element associated with the calendar event; distributing theencrypted content element to each of the plurality of attendee users;determining whether a current time is within a time period associatedwith the calendar event; and in response to determining that the currenttime is within the time period associated with the calendar event,distributing a decryption key for the encrypted content element to atleast one of the plurality of attendee users.
 16. The non-transitorycomputer readable medium of claim 15, wherein the determining whetherthe current time falls within the time period associated with thecalendar event occurs in response to a request to view the encryptedcontent element.
 17. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 16, wherein the instructions are further configured to: inresponse to determining that the current time does not fall within thetime period associated with the calendar event, provide a notificationof an unauthorized access attempt.
 18. The non-transitory computerreadable medium of claim 15, wherein the notification is provided to acompliance server.
 19. The non-transitory computer readable medium ofclaim 15, wherein the content element and the decryption key are sent toa document viewing application separate from an e-mail application thatreceives the calendar event.
 20. The non-transitory computer readablemedium of claim 15, wherein the instructions are further configured to,prior to delivering the decryption key, determine whether each of theattendee users has accepted the calendar invitation, and: if theattendee user has accepted the calendar invitation, distribute thedecryption key; and if the attendee user has not accepted the calendarinvitation, does not distribute the decryption key.